


Fire of Unknown Origin

by Ghost0



Series: The Book of Sabrina [3]
Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018), DCU (Comics)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:00:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28580139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghost0/pseuds/Ghost0
Summary: It is the day after they fought back the undead. And they start asking each other some important questions. A conversation that leads Derek to start taking a hard look at who he is
Series: The Book of Sabrina [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2092500
Kudos: 1





	Fire of Unknown Origin

They drove in silence for a long time. Even when the sun finally started to rise, casting its shine across the open fields and road, neither one of them spoke a word. This is partly because Sabrina found herself falling asleep for several long miles while Derek forced himself to stay alert. But he heard the young girl start to move and open her eyes, stretching out in the car. His flickered over to her but remained quiet for a little longer. No doubt that both of them have several questions for the other, but didn’t feel comfortable talking about it just yet. The digital clock showed that they were starting to approach noon. Derek had caught a sign a couple of miles back saying there is an exit coming up. Sure enough, he saw an arrow that pointed to a small decline towards a stoplight. As he turned right, they saw a couple of small town stores, a few gas stations and restaurants. But he found himself being pulled towards the small motel. Not a major chain location, the establishment appeared to only be one floor. Doesn’t have to be fancy, any place would do for the two of them to get some rest.

Sabrina reached back to grab her bag while Derek stepped out of the car. He opened the trunk and retrieved his bag. When he closed it, Sabrina had closed the passenger door behind her. He leads the way into the motel. It looks pretty much what he would expect a small town motel would be like. A big carpet with a couple of chairs in the lobby by an empty fireplace, mainly brown and dark colors for the entire place. They walked up to the counter, ringing the tiny bell. From the office emerged a slender man. He had long shaggy hair, a couple of pimples on his cheeks. “Hey there.” Derek said. “Looking for two single rooms.”

He didn’t respond, just turned his head down to the computer screen peeking up from beneath the counter. The sound of the computer keys clicking filled the room while the two of them waited. “Looks like we are nearly booked.” His voice was a little slow, seemed completely uninterested and disconnected. “If you want, we still have a double that’s open.”

“Are you really that booked?” Derek raised an eyebrow at that. 

“There is a convention that is starting tonight.” The clerk told him. “Most of them have already arrived.”

Sabrina lightly grabbed Derek’s arm, getting him to look at her. “I don’t mind. We still get our own bed.” Derek shrugged his shoulders and nodded to the clerk. He slowly typed more on the keypad as he confirmed their booking. Afterwards he gave each of them a key with the door number engraved on it. They picked up their bags and made a left and approached the room at the very end of the hall. Derek put his key in and pushed the door open. It was a room with the necessities and nothing much beyond that. Two beds with a nightstand in between them, a TV on top of a dresser, and a bathroom with a shower. Sabrina took the one closest to the door, sitting down on the edge of the bed facing the TV. Derek threw his bag onto the other bed, and paced for a little while. It took a few moments of silent thinking and reflection before he would speak and break the silence.

“So. Want to tell me what’s up with your freaky shit first?” He turned around and looked at Sabrina.

She gave him a kind of defensive glare. “It’s not freaky. Probably not too different from what I saw you do.”

“Don’t think you can distract me so easily.” He walked over and sat down on his bed. “I’m the one who came across your ghost town. You were the only person left. And you just so happen to possess supernatural powers. Most people would be quick to list you as the number one suspect in the case of the vanishing town.”

“Do you, though?” She asked him. He exhaled through his nose, not giving a verbal response. But the look on his face showed that he was uncertain. She relaxed her body a bit, turning around and sitting cross legged on the mattress. “But you have a point. I should be honest now, given everything that has happened.” She closed her eyes, gathered her thoughts. When she opened them back up, she started to talk. “My parents did die when I was young. I was raised by both of my aunts and cousin in Greendale. I went to Baxter High and did a bunch of regular stuff with my friends.” Derek kept a blank expression as he listened to her. “But…I am also a witch. My mom was a regular mortal and my dad…that’s complicated. She married the head of a witch’s coven. And for a while, that was who I thought was my dad. Later, I found out he made a deal in order to marry my mom. With Lucifer.”

Derek’s face didn’t change. Not surprised so far by anything that has been revealed. Considering his own special ability, he isn’t that surprised to discover that the Devil is real. She continued. “She spent a night with him and afterwards she got pregnant with me. So in reality, I am half mortal half daughter of the fallen angel.”

“So you’re the Anti-Christ?” Derek asked.

“No! I mean…if you need to put a label on me, that isn’t an inaccurate one.” Sabrina clarified. “Let’s just say I wasn’t exactly dad’s little girl. By the time I learned this out, I was already sixteen so being the rebellious teenager that I am, I kind of fought against him a fair bit.”

“Please tell me that what happened last night wasn’t daddy trying to teach you a lesson.” Derek said. 

Sabrina shook her head. “No. It can’t be.” A sudden burst of pain flared up within her, bringing a hand up to her forehead and leaned forward. She moaned a bit, Derek becoming more alert and stood up. But she held out a hand to stop him from getting closer. She slowly sat back up, straightening her back as she opened her eyes back up. “I’m starting to remember some stuff. We were fighting against…the Eldritch Terrors.”

“So Lovecraft was some sort of dark prophet now?” Derek thought for a moment. “Not sure how I feel about an asshole like that being right about anything.”

Sabrina focused on trying to bring up more memories. “The Weird…no, the first was The Darkness. I went in with Sabrina and we trapped it like some of the others…”

Derek turned his attention back to Sabrina. “Did you just refer to yourself in the third person?”

Sabrina relaxed her body a bit, lowering her hand. “Before the Terrors, there were Pagans that tried to take over Greendale and the planet. I got trapped and woke up years after everything was destroyed. I had to travel back in time to stop them. But that meant there were two of me. So, I stayed with my aunts in the mortal realm and the other me – Sabrina Morningstar – stayed to rule in Hell.”

He pinched his forehead, looking down at the floor. “Are you…fucking kidding me?” Sabrina looked back up at him, confused at the question. “Haven’t you ever watched any time travel movie? You can’t have two of the same person in the same timeline!” He lowered his hand and looked right at her. “Honestly, that was pretty stupid of you.”

“Excuse me?” Sabrina got up from the bed, crossing her arms.

“Time duplicates always bring trouble and chaos!” Derek said. “Even if reality didn’t collapse in itself, you were basically lighting up a giant lighthouse for every bad thing and person to come and see. Look, I only know a little about Lovecraft and this whole Cthulhu shit, but I’m guessing anything called the Eldritch Terrors are probably attracted to time travel shenanigans.”

Sabrina started to object, but she paused. Derek calmed down a bit as he questioningly studied Sabrina. The young girl seemed to retreat into herself as something overtook her mind. “Your right. I had the same thought…back when the Cosmic arrived. She left towards it to help keep it away. But she came back and…” Her hand came up and covered her mouth. “She died and then I…I…!” Derek started to speak up, ask what she was remembering. But as he started to open his mouth, she vanished.

He searched the room, poking his head out to see if she was in the hallway. He closed the door and retreated back into the hotel room. He sat on the bed and leaned forward, rubbing his face with both hands in frustration. Of course he should have expected her to get upset. That’s what happens when you yell at someone about doing something stupid, which must have triggered something else. He looked up and pointed his eyes to the window looking out into the practically barren town. The sun was out, but the shine had to force itself through the clouds covering the sky. He saw a few stores that are somewhat nearby. Wherever she went to, she couldn’t have gotten that far. He thought about going out there and searching for her. But afraid that he might just make it worse, he decided that he should just wait for her to come back. He can talk to her then and try and make up for what he did.

With nothing else to do, he got up and tried to see if this place served any kind of food. He walked down the hallway towards the lobby. But right when he was supposed to turn right, he turned to the left and saw another common area where people were mingling about. Mostly men, various sizes, mainly Caucasian. There was a table full of food. Derek turned and walked into the room. He noticed a couple of people eye him, sending him an odd chill down his spine. He shook it off, thinking he was just paranoid. It’s not like his life was perfect and devoid of any odd shit. He approached the table and looked down at it. Turning to a person nearby, he reached a hand out to lightly tap the guy’s shoulder. “Excuse me. Do you know if anyone can come and eat this?” The guy turned around to look at Derek. “The clerk up there said there was a convention here, so I didn’t want to take anything that is specifically meant for them.

The guy wore a pair of glasses and had a neck beard. His hair was buzzed off, a bit overweight and wearing an old band shirt that still had a couple of stains on it. He shrugged his shoulders. “I guess…no one has really been at the table yet. Just try not to take too much.” The way he spoke felt like this was someone who isn’t really used to talking to people he doesn’t know.

Derek nodded. “Sure thing.” He looked around at the other people in the room. “Are you here for whatever this convention is? Honestly, when I heard there was one here I was kind of surprised. Doesn’t really seem like an exciting enough place for that kind of gathering.”

“Just a small convention for collectors. Don’t plan on going out much.” He walked away from Derek before he could ask any more. Derek turned back to the food and gathered a few things onto a plate. Some chips, a couple of sliders. There was an open table, but he sensed that it might be better if he took the food back to the room. As he turned around and walked through the common area, he felt a few more suspicious eyes follow him until he was out of sight. He didn’t feel his body completely relax until after he shut the door behind him.

The plate was placed on the nightstand by the head of the mattress. Finding the remote, he laid back on the couch and flipped through the channels. Finally settling on old black and white film about Jekyll and Hyde, he ate the food he got and tried to figure out how he wanted to apologize to Sabrina when she came back. Many minutes started to pass, then an hour passed followed by a couple of more. The movie had ended and he was just trying to find various shows to flip through as he nervously waited for her to return. He turned the TV off when he heard some talk coming from the hallway. Nothing about it sounded interesting, but he felt his body slowly pick itself up and move towards the door. Turning the handle slowly and quietly, he just needed it to open a small crack. Large enough to try and pick up on what was being said. The two figures he could see were of two guys, one of them much larger than the other and had his hair tied in a ponytail. He was holding something that had the other guy’s attention, but he couldn’t tell what was being shown. He could only try and pick up on the words.

“…and the hair was a very unique shade of red.” It seemed like this was coming from the larger one. “I usually don’t keep hair, but I felt a real connection with her and wanted just a little bit of extra to remember her by. Overall, she was probably my favorite. Do you keep anything?”

“No, I just stick to the photographs.” The other one seemed to have more confidence. Someone who was probably used to larger gatherings, unlike that other guy Derek spoke to earlier. “I’ve been taking them probably longer than most of the others here. But I have to admit, this one right here is a beauty. You can really see the shock in her pupils. This could be a darkly beautiful painting.”

“Oh, well…not really good with that.” Sounds like the large one isn’t used to someone giving him compliments. “But I do think this was good time, a good pick.”

“And it shows. But come on, I think they are about to share. Maybe you can ask to share that one. I bet they would love to…” Then they started to walk out of earshot. Derek closed the door, and it wasn’t until he let go of the handle that he realized just how hard he was gripping it. Didn’t even realize the intense beating coming from his chest until after the two men were gone. There was that voice again, pushing him to go out and follow. To be sure of what was going one. He had a few guesses as to what this collectors’ convention really was, but he was trying to keep himself away from it. There is no reason to get involved if there was no immediate danger. But the voice was swaying him again. It was speaking to a burning desire within him. One that he didn’t recognize was there before, but somehow knew it was always there. Ever since that night in Seattle. He had been trying to ignore it ever since. But after last night, when he gave into it and allowed himself to turn, he couldn’t ignore it. Not anymore.

His hand reached back to the handle and he turned it. The door slowly opened and he stepped back into the hallway. It clicked shut behind him, hearing it even though he was several feet away. His feet carried him down the hall, turning left back into the common are with the food table. Some of the food was still there, but the room was empty. He walked further into the room, looking around until he saw two doors. Above it was a plate that marked it as the Conference Hall. Derek turned and moved towards the double doors, standing in front of it and listening to himself breath for one more moment. He opened the door just a crack, trying to be quiet as he peeked into the room. He recognized the two from the hallway as well as the guy from earlier standing in front of them. He had a laptop open and was showing a collection of pictures. They were all of women, most of them focused on just their faces, but a few of them showed some of their blood stained bodies. Fear and terror could be seen in every one of them. He didn’t need to listen to what they were talking about. He knew what they were and what needed to be done. He let the dark desire within him guide his movements. He stepped inside, turning around to close the door. Several of them turned and angrily looked at him, a couple seemed ready to approach him. Derek turned around to face them, letting the pain surge through his body as his skin turned from white to blue. The looks of fear and terror could now be seen in their faces, shortly before he let blue flame ignite and start to consume everything it touched.

******

When Sabrina teleported away, she had found herself in an old bookstore. But she didn’t really care where she was, she just burst in and found the bathroom and locked herself inside. She needed a space to be alone in and to think. Her back pressed against the door and she covered her face with her hands. She took deep breaths, trying to control her body and hold back tears. Her memory was starting to come back in full. She remembered Sabrina Morningstar coming back and dying on her bedroom floor. The trinket man came to the house and she took Pandora’s Box into The Void. But she was pulled back, bringing part of The Void within her. Weeks spent in the Mountains of Madness with Blackwood, trying to figure out how to control it and bring those she vanished back. She remembered it leaving her body as she was laid it on the sacrificial altar. She remembered the faint sounds of her friends happy to start bringing people back into the world. Then her body gave its last breath and everything turned dark. 

There was a knock on the door. “Pardon me dear. I just wanted to check in with you. You seemed to be upset when you came in. Do you need anything?”

Sabrina wiped a couple of tears from her face. Exhaling deeply, she turned and opened the door. She greeted an elderly woman, trying to smile at her. “I’m fine. Just…recently heard some bad news. But I’m good.”

“Are you sure dear?” Sabrina nodded. “Well, feel free to take all the time in here that you need. If you need anything, just come up to the counter.”

“Thank you.” The woman walked away. Sabrina stepped out of the bathroom and held her arms as she looked around. As she did so, she started to remember other things. Events that she wasn’t there for. Well, not Sabrina Spellman that is. Caliban started to pop up in her mind. But she was doing things with him that she never…no, but Sabrina Morningstar did those things. She walked down the aisle and looked at the spines of the old books. Her eyes were drawn to one that had a symbol of an Ankh at the top of the spine. Reaching up, she pulled it off the shelf and looked at the cover. A thick book, going over the history and mythology of Egypt and several Middle Eastern countries. She couldn’t really think of anything else to do right now. She looked for an old chair and flipped through the pages. She ended up spending a few hours in the bookstore, going over the mythology of several different countries. Nothing about it really touched on the subject of two souls becoming one. But she did feel a little at ease going through it. Even if none of these old gods had anything to say about her situation, she came up with an explanation of her own making while reading. Whatever happened to her, she came back merged with her other self. There was some sense in that, she supposes. Enough to make it feel a little better.

She took the book with her when she went back to the counter and placed the book on it. She started to look into her pockets, realizing that she doesn’t have any cash with her. But the old woman pushed the book towards her. “Don’t worry about it dear. Just remember that no matter what, it gets easier.” She smiled at the young girl, who thanked her as she grabbed the book from the counter. The doors pushed open and she stood in the cool air. Focusing her mind, she brought herself back to the motel room.

The teleportation worked. But there was an odd smell. Putting her book down, she turned towards the door. The smell was coming from the hallway, the strong almost overwhelming when she opened the door. She peeked her head out and saw smoke and flame coming from down the hall. It was spreading outward down both halls that connected all the rooms. The door slammed shut, Sabrina turned around and said a chant that sent all of their stuff back to the car. She rushed to the window to look out. That was when she saw Derek, slowly walking outside and looking out away from the burning building. She materialized right beside him. There was some blood on his hands and arms. Some splattered on his chest and face. Her first instinct was to ask him what happened. But she looked at his eyes and thought he might be in shock. He wasn’t completely there, seemed detached. She gently grabbed his arm and placed a hand on his back. “Hey Derek. Don’t worry, its Sabrina. Let’s just go to the car. Can you give me your keys?” hand slowly reached into his pocket and pulled them out. She slowly reached out and took it from his grasp. She walked him to the car and had him get in through the passenger door. Moving quickly, she got into the driver’s seat and started up the car. She pulled out and quickly got onto the road. Driving quickly at first to put some distance between them and the burning motel. It took a while before she felt comfortable enough to let up on the gas. She wasn’t even sure where she was going when she focused on where she currently was. All she could see was the open road. But it was clear that they had to be driving for a couple of hours, the sun beginning to descend towards the horizon. 

Derek kept silent for a long time while Sabrina drove his car. When he did begin to speak, she jumped in her seat. “I grew up in Los Angeles. My dad was a stunt double for a bunch of actors. Mainly fun exploitive B movies, a couple of small budget mainstream action flicks.” Derek looked forward through the Dashboard window. “Never knew my mom. From what I can tell, I was just dropped off on his doorstep. I think I was entering high school when I realized that he kind of saw me as an unwanted responsibility. He hid it well, and he never hit me or anything. But looking back, trying to recall some of the things he would say whenever we argued and yell at each other…it became obvious when you know what to look for. Guess that’s why I got into more than my fair share of fights.” He got a small grin on his face. “I remember this one guy, he just got initiated into one of the gangs. Don’t remember which one, doesn’t matter. He had this tough guy attitude, getting into this one small kid’s face. I went up and landed a good one that broke his nose and he fell to the ground. Blubbering like a fucking idiot.” 

Sabrina looked over at him whenever she could, but still paying attention to the road. “You said the other day you went to community college.”

He nodded. “My dad cared enough in several respects. Saved enough to get me one year of college without having to take out a loan. But probably would have if I ended up staying. I decided that it just wasn’t for me. I think he was disappointed, but mainly worried that means I would be sticking around him for a little longer then.” He turned to look out the side window. “Ended up moving to Seattle. Worked for a shelter, helping people and families that had nowhere else to go.” Derek reached under his shirt and pulled the cross back out. He played with it in his fingers. “I’m not exactly born again. Never really went to church. But I guess I did find a sense of faith. But it was more of an add-on in a sense. I have to believe in God, in the concept of righteousness if I believe in pure evil.” He deeply exhaled, sinking into his seat. “There were a lot of homeless that disappeared or getting killed off and…it really pissed me off. They were good people. I was telling that and venting a bit to this stranger who walked up to me while I was taking a smoke break one night. Don’t really remember what he looked like or what he said. Not a single word. But I do recall telling him that I felt like I should be doing something that had more significance that what I was doing. Try and do…more. Next thing I knew; I was standing over a dead man in his apartment.” Sabrina looked over. “I freaked out. Grabbed all my stuff and left. It wasn’t until I crossed into the next state that I checked the news for that guy.” He turned around and looked at Sabrina. “News report said that Fred Newman was found dead in his apartment. Found evidence that he was tracking and kidnapping people off the streets and chopping them up. They just assumed his would be victim fought back hard enough and left him to die.”

“Well, that’s…good, right?” Sabrina asked him.

He shrugged. “Still don’t feel right going back there. I never thought I would do that.” He tapped her on the shoulder, getting her to look back. “I’m sorry for how I kind of blew up at you. Most of that is anger at myself. If I knew I was going to make some twisted deal with…whoever that stranger was, I would change what happened.”

She shook her head. “I wasn’t upset with you. You did have a point. My memories came back and I remembered a point where I had the same thought. Some shit happened and the other me ended up dying. And then I…I remember dying not too long afterwards.” He studied her, noticing the pain being expressed in her face. “But now I’m back somehow and I have her memories as well. The other me. Except I…don’t really see them as my own. Like I collected someone else’s memories and have them, but I know they aren’t mine.” Her hand came up to wipe another tear from her cheek. “Do you think…whatever happened to you. Do you think someone put something into you, like how I view the memories of my other self? Or did he just bring out something in you? Something you were trying to bury?”

“I’ve been asking myself that same question.” He looked out the window and fell silent. Sabrina didn’t push for more, turning her attention back to the road. They drove down the highway in silence, the sun now fully descending in the far off distance.


End file.
